Curated by Pablo Robertson de Unamuno
from the 7th to the 21st of December 2024
Artists: Jozefien Van der Aelst, Lorenza De Benedictis, Sandra Del Valle, Oliver Chadwick, Nicolás Onischuk, Zora Ottink, Dina Kelberman, Homa Sarabi & Meenakshi Garodia, Daleya Marohn, Pablo de Unamuno, Chiara Marini Ferretti & Giulia Zini, Vasilisa Forbes, Maxime Marinot, Laura G. Escribano.
VisualcontainerTV is proud to present the latest Underneath the Floorboards Festival edition. The festival is dedicated to showcasing the work of artists who express themselves experimentally, innovatively, and non-linearly.
Part I
Monte Kali by Jozefien Van der Aelst, 23:51
After the sudden collapse of Monte Kali’s core, the miners are swallowed by darkness. Trapped in the silence of the deep earth, they start to remember. One of them is haunted by images far beyond what any prayer can reconcile.
Scatter Brain by Lorenza De Benedictis, 1:10
An experimental study of the inside of a “scattered brain.”
Resignify by Sandra Del Valle, 6:36
A journey through Elle’s subconscious where she will have to face her demons to free herself.
THE ADULT SENSORY ROOM by Oliver Chadwick, 5:00
A short experimental film about an undiagnosed autistic adult living in modern times, aiming to expose the ways autistic adults are treated and mistreated by health services, the police and society.
Prelude to a flash by Nicolás Onischuk, 4:34
In an audiovisual collage of nostalgia and magnetism, “Prelude to a Flash” fuses images from early cinema with elements of contemporary animation. It explores the tension between past and present through the edges, the traces that emerge from the representation of bodies in a sensory and emotional journey.
Part II
As political landscapes dissolve by Zora Ottink, 7:00
In 1992, Bukowski wrote ‘Dinosauria, We’, a prophetic, socially critical poem to which I like to refer and from which I take my title, ‘As Political Landscapes Dissolve’. ‘As political landscapes dissolve’ is an associative, surrealistic film. A reflective dream in which I move towards my mirror self. What is my identity in this changing political landscape, in a landscape of melting ice caps? Under the snow, the water starts flowing. Everything slides; razors, snowplows, gender relations, identity politics and the climate. Everything will continually change, decay and manifest again.
In the short film (7 min) shot on 16 mm, I place myself, Zora, in this shifting reality. A trail in the snow leads her to her mirror image in an impressive white world, where no one seems to be. When she is confronted with her own reflection, she returns to reality; the mirror in her bathroom. There, between the razor and her cheek, the last white flakes disappear.
The film is a sensory journey in which the sound adds a hypnotic effect that coincides with the film grain and the snow.
‘As political landscapes dissolve’ reflects a surreal world, which sometimes seems hard to believe. It’s like looking in the mirror, you never see yourself as others see you.
It Was Me But It Wasn’t Me by Dina Kelberman, 3:00
It Was Me But It Wasn’t Me is an experimental audiovisual film by Dina Kelberman, drawing from the raw, hypnotic memo recordings of musician Ed Schrader. Schrader’s cryptic vocal beats and serene retelling of a dream are transformed into a dynamic soundscape using synthesizer audio patches, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. The visuals weave together a stream of found imagery, generating unexpected connections between dream states and waking life. In it’s original online incarnation this nocturnal work is available exclusively between midnight and 6 am, inviting viewers to explore themes of rhythm, resonance, and the subtle interplay of sound and image as they unfold in the liminal space between sleep and consciousness.
Tan/Vatan by Homa Sarabi & Meenakshi Garodia, 7:34, 16 mm Film, Handmade Film.
Tan/Vatan -Body/Homeland- is a collaborative experimental film. It is a conversation between two women and their intimate experiences of love and life.
The film embodies a symbolic form borrowed from the origin cultures of the artists, in India and Iran. Tan and Vatan are mutual words in Hindi and Persian language, sharing the same meaning and pronunciation. Artists utilise the language, the medium, and their bodies to connect and visualise their experiences while engaging with the mechanical and physical experience of 16mm and handmade film.
Fragments by Daleya Marohn, 1:45
A film exploring the concept of home, starring Astan Meyer & Yvonne Sadji-Sembene.
BONE KINK by Pablo de Unamuno, 5:04
An individual feels the full force of her daily banalities and existential questions colliding, fusing into a visceral, high-stakes performance that consumes her entirely.
COM SE RADICE by Chiara Marini Ferretti & Giulia Zini, 3:19
A creature between human and talpid seeks a space to plant itself and grow.
This is a short documentary observing a one-hour night performance.
The performance starts from the personal and universal need to find a habitable space and belonging, the work investigates the theme of home and the relationship between man living in an aseptic urban dimension and nature confined outside it. It tells of the feeling of impatience given by the difficulty of finding such a space, natural and social at the same time, and at the same time stands as a hymn to resilience.
The force of desire drives man in a continuous search.
The performative action consists of dragging a jute sack full of heavy earth and trying to plant oneself in various places in the city. The action captured by the camera takes on the character of an experimental short film. What we see happening was performed on the spot without a script, but it was the body that spoke, starting with this very strong desire-action.
A Room by the Sea by Vasilisa Forbes, 4:08
A woman leads an isolated, but contented existence in her coastal apartment. She finds peace in the nuance of small details and takes time to reflect on her journals. She poeticises her experience of watching the sea and the sky change tone and colour day after day from her window. But she never leaves the interior space. Who is she?
The title reflects Virginia Woolf’s essay ‘A Room of One’s Own’ which discusses the need for female creativity to thrive in a safe, private space of one’s own where it can be cultivated and nutured. The interior space of the home is warm and encased, womb-like. Out there the great expanse of ocean, and what it means to look out upon it.
The film you are about to see by Maxime Marinot, 11:00
Please note that the film you are about to see is taken from real material of film history, namely the disclaimers and warnings that frame the existence of many films. However, any collusion between art and industry, any conflict of interest between freedom of creation and the law, or any hint of moralism on the life of images, would be purely incidental and unintentional.
Sello de Discordia by Laura G. Escribano, 3:15
Reflecting on his shamanic past, GUARDA explores the land where he was baptized. “Sello de Discordia” is an exploration about spirituality, rituals, nature, and Its inherent violence.
‘Underneath the Floorboards,‘ is a platform that shows the best in Video Art, Media Art, Digital Art, Experimental film and Documentary from around the world.